A Few Finished Objects

I haven't been posting much, but I have been knitting:

Rover had this lovely walking jacket kit for him for the "Teeny Runway Project" hosted by Mason Dixon Knitting. Although he was not a finalist, both he and I enjoyed our participation immensely. It just goes to show that if you offer knitters and interesting challenge, they rise magnificently to the occasion!

I also accepted the challenge of the 2008 Sock Knitter Pentathlon on Raverly. The first sock (Jacobean Sock) was knit in under 5 hours, and it sure wasn't by me. I pushed myself and finished the pair in 2-1/2 days. Finishing a pair of socks this quickly gave me a whole new perspective on sock knitting - they don't have to drag on forever, and the sooner you finish, the sooner you have a new pair of socks to wear.

I'm only showing one sock because this picture was closest to the color of the yarn (Aussie Wool in Faded Valentine). I've also worn them inside-out to see if the knit side felt more comfortable against the bottom of my foot - it did.

Then there was the Melon Stitch Shawl from Victorian Lace Today. I used Malabrigo Lace in Orchid. The yarn was great to work with, and the shawl is very soft. I will get it back eventually, but now it is at Fabric Place in Woburn, MA, for their display.

I wore it for their Knitters Breakfast and I know that several people decided to make one after seeing it. The nice thing about this shawl is that although there is a lot of knitting, it is not difficult to do. This broke the "I can't knit a shawl because it's too complicated" mindset that I had.

I off-loaded lingering guilt and finally finished the Brioche Socks for my Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 (they were due in August). Fortunately, my pal hasn't finished mine yet, either, and we have been in communication. This sock pattern is in brioche stitch, which allowed me to knit in two colors and make each color the dominant rib on each side - which means that the socks are reversible! The short-row heel was a challenge, I think I knit and frogged on heel at least three times. But I love the socks and they are very cushy - they're an indoor, house sock, and I know I'm going to knit myself a pair because my feet have been freezing in my old, New England house this winter.

They are Gryffindor socks, and this is the yellow side...

and this is the red side. I hope my swap pal likes them!

Big and Little

I just finshed this pair of socks in three days. This is the fastest I have ever knit socks, and it changed my perception about the amount of effort needed to knit socks. These are the Jacobean socks that are sock #1 for the 2008 Sock Knitters Pentathlon on Ravelry.

On the other hand, I am just about to finish the Melon Shawl from Victorian Lace Today. I've been working on it steadily since January.













The body of the shawl is a 6-row pattern, repeated 62 times. The border is an 8-row pattern knit all around the body of the shawl, with extra repeats at the corners.

I thought knitting this shawl was going to be difficult. It wasn't. And, despite all the repetition, it wasn't tedious either. It was very relaxing. I just kept going, keeping track of which row I was on, enjoying the process of knitting with nice needles (KnitPicks Harmony) and nice yarn (Malabrigo Lace).

It was the contrast of the pace that these two projects had that struck me. The socks were done in a concerted, focused rush. The shawl proceeded at an even, relaxing pace. They complemented each other, and highlighted, for me, the very different moods of knitting.

One BIG WIP

I joined the Organized Knitting Club. This didn't mean that I was organized, but that I wanted to be organized. So February was devoted to organizing my stash.

I had some great "before" pictures, but managed to accidently delete them (note to self: 'format' on a digital camera does not apply to the picture). I do have one for you to see:

I had started the process of clearing this rack and hanging my WIPs on it in clear plastic bags. The proceses continued and involved moving the rack to the other side of the room (after moving the microwave cabinet that was there) so I had access to both sides.

Top shelf has WIPs.

The lower shelf has designated yarn for WIP-to-be. I haven't figured out what's going on the lowest shelves yet.

All my free range yarn is will be in or on this sliding-glass-door cabinet, arranged by color.

Larger lots of yarn, mostly bought for a specific project, like a sweater, are still in labeled bins.

So that's what I've been doing. Still to come organizing the following: needles; patterns; books; computer area; and sewing area.

Buckle up. This may be a long, bumpy flight!